Second Cam Thingy (reprise)

[hueandcry71]

Just been out for another attempt at losing my virginity and still nothing happened. Went for a 30 minute drive then decided to have a go.

I was doing over 7000rpm in 3rd gear and nothing happened or at least if it did i didnt notice. The red light on the rev counter didnt come on either. Does this indicate a fault with the car or should i have carried on putting my foot down?? I was a little frightened at this stage to be honest........

I am destined to be a virgin forever

[tricky 100]

Its probably a 111S with differant badges on
Red light doesn't come on until 8500 RPM , you would of been on 2nd cam profile at 7k its not always as notible transition as its made out to be .

[NathanE]

3rd gear definately has a humungous kick in the back in my car. 1st and 2nd tend to smooth out the kick quite a bit I find.

I'd say there is either something wrong with your car or your car has the motorsport ECU.

[hueandcry71]

tricky 100 said:

Its probably a 111S with differant badges on
Red light doesn't come on until 8500 RPM , you would of been on 2nd cam profile at 7k its not always as notible transition as its made out to be .

I thought the light came on as the second cam kicked in, perhaps i was paying too much attention to the light to notice it kicking in. What i do know is that when i had stopped looking at the light and looked in my rear view mirror the cars that were alongside me originally were specks in the distance

[tricky 100]

hueandcry71 said:

tricky 100 said:

Its probably a 111S with differant badges on
Red light doesn't come on until 8500 RPM , you would of been on 2nd cam profile at 7k its not always as notible transition as its made out to be .

I thought the light came on as the second cam kicked in, perhaps i was paying too much attention to the light to notice it kicking in. What i do know is that when i had stopped looking at the light and looked in my rear view mirror the cars that were alongside me originally were specks in the distance

No , light comes when the rev limiter kicks in , at 8500 .

[21TonyK]

You most definitely would notice the change over in 2nd or 3rd gear, you would also hear it. And the shift light would not come on at 7K.

In 1st, 2nd or 3rd it's like elastic acceleration as you hit 6250rpm. In mine it's like flicking a switch its so pronounced.

Try again and watch the tacho hit 6250. If there's no surge in acceleration then it's not doing what it should. If not it's either the car preventing the cam kick in due to still running in (can't see Lotus being that clever) or you need to take a trip to the dealer.

[hueandcry71]

tricky 100 said:

hueandcry71 said:

tricky 100 said:

Its probably a 111S with differant badges on
Red light doesn't come on until 8500 RPM , you would of been on 2nd cam profile at 7k its not always as notible transition as its made out to be .

I thought the light came on as the second cam kicked in, perhaps i was paying too much attention to the light to notice it kicking in. What i do know is that when i had stopped looking at the light and looked in my rear view mirror the cars that were alongside me originally were specks in the distance

No , light comes when the rev limiter kicks in , at 8500 .

year i understand that now, misunderdstood earlier posts on the subject. Thanks.

In terms of it not always being as noticable as its made out to be i think i was expecting something like out of the film Back to the Future. The accelaration was deinitely there but not the near "whiplash" that i was expecting if you know what i mean?

[beak]

yeah, it should be noticeable, like a turbo boost

[nsm3]

hueandcry71 said:

......or should i have carried on putting my foot down?? I was a little frightened at this stage to be honest...

I would imagine that you need to have the pedal mashed into the floor and held there to get full effect?

I'm not sure exactly, as my Exige S doesn't seem to have a pronounced "kick" as such? Saying that though,the delivery gets pretty ferocious above 6.5k rpm

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

If you're only gently increasing the revs, then you won't notice it, the transition is smooth. You need to be opening the throttle wide to feel it engage. The more open you have it, the more pronounced the engagement feels.

[tanman]

21TonyK said:

You most definitely would notice the change over in 2nd or 3rd gear, you would also hear it. And the shift light would not come on at 7K.

In 1st, 2nd or 3rd it's like elastic acceleration as you hit 6250rpm. In mine it's like flicking a switch its so pronounced.

Try again and watch the tacho hit 6250. If there's no surge in acceleration then it's not doing what it should. If not it's either the car preventing the cam kick in due to still running in (can't see Lotus being that clever) or you need to take a trip to the dealer.

Exactly as Tony says. Additionally i think the change up light comes on at about 8000rpm to give you time to change up before the rev limiter kicks in at about 8250 (not 100% sure on the limiter figure though, some say 8500)
HTH

[21TonyK]

LivinLaVidaLotus said:

If you're only gently increasing the revs, then you won't notice it, the transition is smooth. You need to be opening the throttle wide to feel it engage. The more open you have it, the more pronounced the engagement feels.

DING Just keep the pedal flat to the floor

[S9AJE]

foot to floor in second wait for light then change.

you'll notice it i should hope.

you won't hurt the car if you change when the red light lights up

go enjoy

[S9AJE]

foot to floor in second wait for light then change.

you'll notice it i should hope.

you won't hurt the car if you change when the red light lights up

go enjoy

[hueandcry71]

LivinLaVidaLotus said:

If you're only gently increasing the revs, then you won't notice it, the transition is smooth. You need to be opening the throttle wide to feel it engage. The more open you have it, the more pronounced the engagement feels.

Thats probably where the "not noticing" lies, i was gently increasing the revs and not "foot to flooring" it.

[chrisstringer]

Just a thought, and not 100% sure what I'm talking about, so please don't quote me, but isn't there an electrical fuse that enables the 2nd cam to operate. Isn't it possible that the fuse has failed (even on a fairly new car), and so the cam wouldn't kick in ?

HTH, Chris.

[NathanE]

No the cam is a mechanical thing, there's no electrics involved other than the ECU moving a few cogs to make the 2nd cam engage.

[Saied]

Check your oil level is correct (the engine's probably used a bit during the running-in phase). If its too low, the 2nd cam won't engage.

[Esprit]

hueandcry, you're still running in right?

Best to be gentle on it, although a few forays into the second cam (up to 7,000ish) is recommended IIRC. Perhaps just take it easy as you have been doing until it's all run in then you can go nuts... trust me, the second cam WILL be noticeable!.

[hueandcry71]

Esprit said:

hueandcry, you're still running in right?

Best to be gentle on it, although a few forays into the second cam (up to 7,000ish) is recommended IIRC. Perhaps just take it easy as you have been doing until it's all run in then you can go nuts... trust me, the second cam WILL be noticeable!.

Yes mate,still running in.

Its only the second time i have tried to introduce myself to Mr Second Clam for the rest of the time ive owned the car i have driven it like a Vicar on his way to church.